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Author Topic: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.  (Read 7581 times)

Offline Beerus Maximus

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Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« on: August 23, 2013, 1615 UTC »
Just an unboxing for now.





That is all.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2013, 1620 UTC by Beerus Maximus »
# Genetically engineered sentient sausage & undisputed inventor of the end-fed dipole. I also invented the schlumpy dipole.
# KiwiSDR, NetSDR, Airspy HF+, Airspy HF+ Discovery, TS-590, IC-7610, FTDX10, ANAN 7000 DLE MKII
# beerusmaximus@gmail.com * North Shore, Massachusetts

Offline desmoface

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2013, 1618 UTC »
Congrats, very nice.

Steve
Kenwood TS-870SAT
Full Wave 80 Meter Horizontal Loop ~ 260 Ft Long
Pse qsl to Kb8viv @ yahoo . com
NE Ohio

Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2013, 1621 UTC »
Welcome to the club.

Chris Smolinski
Westminster, MD
eQSLs appreciated! csmolinski@blackcatsystems.com
netSDR / AFE822x / AirSpy HF+ / KiwiSDR / 900 ft Horz skyloop / 500 ft NE beverage / 250 ft V Beam / 58 ft T2FD / 120 ft T2FD / 400 ft south beverage / 43m, 20m, 10m  dipoles / Crossed Parallel Loop / Discone in a tree

Offline Sealord

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2013, 1716 UTC »
Nice purchase Beerus! - l was looking at the used one on Universal Radio 's site the other day.
Indoors: WR-G33DDC & TT RX-340_DX Eng. 4-Square Array / Outdoors: Belka-DX_Whip / Poolside: SMC HF-150_MMD-40 (D.O.G.) / Off Air/Studio Recordings

Offline clobdell

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #4 on: August 23, 2013, 1755 UTC »
Excellent! One of these days when my E1's all die and John Kriner can't fix them then ....,
Receiver: Eton E1, JRC NRD-525, 535 and 545, Icom IC-7300
Aerial: MFJ G5RV dipole
near Lowell Massachusetts - Gateway To The Merrimack Valley.
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Offline Pigmeat

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2013, 1851 UTC »
May Al Fansome have mercy on your soul.

Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #6 on: August 23, 2013, 1853 UTC »
May Al Fansome have mercy on your soul.

I keep waiting for the National Enquirer to run some grainy photos of Al using an SDR-14 to listen to Brother Stair.
Chris Smolinski
Westminster, MD
eQSLs appreciated! csmolinski@blackcatsystems.com
netSDR / AFE822x / AirSpy HF+ / KiwiSDR / 900 ft Horz skyloop / 500 ft NE beverage / 250 ft V Beam / 58 ft T2FD / 120 ft T2FD / 400 ft south beverage / 43m, 20m, 10m  dipoles / Crossed Parallel Loop / Discone in a tree

rdla4

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #7 on: August 23, 2013, 2152 UTC »
What kind of beer is that?

Offline Beerus Maximus

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# Genetically engineered sentient sausage & undisputed inventor of the end-fed dipole. I also invented the schlumpy dipole.
# KiwiSDR, NetSDR, Airspy HF+, Airspy HF+ Discovery, TS-590, IC-7610, FTDX10, ANAN 7000 DLE MKII
# beerusmaximus@gmail.com * North Shore, Massachusetts

rdla4

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2013, 0117 UTC »
Very good....enjoy the brew and the rig!!!!

They take a few moments to get used to, but once you use the SDR.....

Offline BDM

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #10 on: August 24, 2013, 0253 UTC »
Ahhh nice
Radios -- Perseus SDR // SDRPlay RSPdx // Icom IC-7300 // Tecsun PL-660 // Panasonic RF-5000A --Antennas-- Pixel Pro 1B loop - 82' fan-dipole at 40' - tuned MW/BCB 40" loop and 100' receive only dipole
-Brian--North of Detroit--MI-
1710/KHz the MW Pirate Clear Channel (not so much anymore "sigh")

cmradio

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #11 on: August 24, 2013, 0354 UTC »
Sha-weeeet, dude! ;D

^5

Peace!

Offline BOR

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #12 on: August 24, 2013, 0455 UTC »
Congratulations!! You're going to love that.

Offline Labviewguru

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #13 on: August 24, 2013, 2318 UTC »
Please note: I am NOT belittling anyone's equipment. I am asking to be educated.

I have a serious question for you gents - given that most of the software is free, why is a SDR "box" so horrendously expensive? I've looked at the bills of materials and most of the hardware, including boards, could be "had" for $250 USD. SMT soldering isn't a problem for me, I do it frequently. What am I missing?

I've thought about sending commands to my xcvr via CAT (Yaesu) and use a DAQ card to monitor the IF output. I'll display it all with LabVIEW, and the DAQ card can give me 16 or 24 bits. I have (what is now considered a low-end card) that will give me 300K samples/second at 24 bits. Of course, this would be receive only.

SO, it's quite possible I'm completely missing something. Would one or more of you folks be kind enough to fill me in?

Thanks

LabVIEWguru
QSL or Email to: ARS_W8FH(at)yahoo.com
RSP2 SDRplay, Diamond Discone & 125 foot longwire
IC-735 & Carolina Windom NC/SC border at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Offline Beerus Maximus

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Re: Joined the SDR revolution. Let me show you it.
« Reply #14 on: August 26, 2013, 1402 UTC »
Someone not brain damaged like me could answer your question more intelligently. But my point of view is that it goes something like this.... there's no major commercial enterprise yet to develop and market true high performance SDR to hobbyists so we are nowhere near economies of scale in the SDR world.

Instead the development is happening by talented experimenters and engineers running small companies, possibly as a hobbies themselves. The cost represents not just the parts but their significant investment in time to research and develop the hardware.

The NetSDR is expensive at $1449, but in the few days I have been playing with it, I have absolutely no regrets. It is an amazing radio. Does it really have $250 in parts inside? I have no idea. But does it perform like I'd expect for $1449? It sure does. The engineer behind it is the guy you deal with when you buy one and he is available on IRC. Could you talk to the designer of your Yaesu on a moment's notice?

I guess what I am saying is that sure, the parts individually may be nothing particularly exotic but the finished product is far from a commodity. I'm not being sarcastic here: if you think you could design and build a unit that performs just as well, and sell it for a LOT less, you should do it! It would only help move the SDR revolution further.
# Genetically engineered sentient sausage & undisputed inventor of the end-fed dipole. I also invented the schlumpy dipole.
# KiwiSDR, NetSDR, Airspy HF+, Airspy HF+ Discovery, TS-590, IC-7610, FTDX10, ANAN 7000 DLE MKII
# beerusmaximus@gmail.com * North Shore, Massachusetts